Kendall Andjelkovic

The plaintiff, Daynah Allen, sought a date for a motion to strike the Statement of Defence in her long-term disability claim against Sun Life Assurance Company.

The court refused to schedule the motion, finding it meritless and certain to fail, as the defendant filed its defence before being noted in default.

The court also addressed the parties' conduct, discovery issues, and awarded substantial indemnity costs against the plaintiff due to her persistent pursuit of the motion despite repeated judicial warnings.

The defendant, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, brought a motion to dismiss the plaintiff's action due to her persistent failure to comply with discovery obligations, including attending a court-ordered in-person examination for discovery by September 30, 2022.

This followed a "last chance order" issued on June 20, 2022.

The plaintiff, self-represented, failed to provide valid explanations for her non-compliance and made unsubstantiated allegations of judicial bias.

The court found the plaintiff's non-compliance to be contumacious and granted the defendant's motion, dismissing the action.

Following a successful motion by the defendant to compel the self-represented plaintiff to attend an examination for discovery in person, the parties made written submissions on costs.

The defendant sought substantial indemnity costs due to the plaintiff's vexatious conduct, including filing voluminous irrelevant materials and making unsubstantiated allegations of fraud and criminal conduct against counsel.

The court agreed that the plaintiff's conduct was reprehensible and unnecessarily lengthened the proceedings.

The defendant was awarded substantial indemnity costs in the amount of $9,290.97.

The defendant moved to dismiss the plaintiff's action for delay, failure to attend examinations for discovery, failure to appoint a new lawyer, and failure to pay a previous costs award.

The action, arising from a 2009 motor vehicle accident, had been stalled due to the self-represented plaintiff's refusal to attend in-person discoveries, citing medical reasons supported only by an outdated doctor's letter.

The court declined to dismiss the action immediately, finding the medical evidence insufficient to justify written discoveries but opting to give the plaintiff a final opportunity to attend an in-person examination.

The motion to dismiss for delay was adjourned until after the discovery, and the other requests for dismissal were denied.